outdoor enclosure/nightbox questions

[baldegale]

so im putting together an outdoor enclosure this spring. its going to be 8’x8’ and im going to have a night box aswell so i have a couple questions. this question is about how big the tort should be to go outside with no top? he’s currently about 6inches and weighs 1lb (redfoot) next question is can someone make a list of when i should bring the tort inside? like max/min temps, precipitation stuff like that. also, i dont know if ill be able to afford a RHP for the night box right now. would i really need it for summer? where hes gonna be hes gonna get most of the sun throughout the day and being that im in tennessee and temps are on average 90°-100° daily id think that would heat it up in the mean time. obviously thats a different story for winter. also do you lock the tort in the night box every night?

 

[baldegale]

also, what should i use to waterproof the outside of the night box?

 

[baldegale]

bump

 

[ColaCarbonaria]

I used Kilz to prime then an exterior paint for my night box’s and corrugated tin for roof. I had a top on my RF’s until they were close to 5 years old and weighed closer to a cpl kilos a raccoon could carry a 1 lb tort off. A good summer time hot 70 degrees would prob be min temp for a smaller guy like that just to be safe. What are your night temps? If you are up in elevation in east tenn and it cools off every night you might want to heat it. My RF’s are pretty good about putting themselves away at night, just check on him in th beginning to make sure he’s found th box and he’ll learn.

 

[baldegale]

I used Kilz to prime then an exterior paint for my night box’s and corrugated tin for roof. I had a top on my RF’s until they were close to 5 years old and weighed closer to a cpl kilos a raccoon could carry a 1 lb tort off. A good summer time hot 70 degrees would prob be min temp for a smaller guy like that just to be safe. What are your night temps? If you are up in elevation in east tenn and it cools off every night you might want to heat it. My RF’s are pretty good about putting themselves away at night, just check on him in th beginning to make sure he’s found th box and he’ll learn.

im in southern tennessee, just moved here from mid tennessee. but mid tennessee my experiences were on average 90-100°+ during the day and 75-80° at night and that lasts till september usually but i wanna have him in all year round so it will be heated either way, im probably going to end up building a 4’x4’ night box and put a mini oil heater in there. my main concern are cats, we have a lot of stray cats in the area and they have brought dead rabbits etc and theyre on my back porch all the time. hed be locked in his nightbox every night. also, the box will be insulated.

 

[Tom]

so im putting together an outdoor enclosure this spring. its going to be 8’x8’ and im going to have a night box aswell so i have a couple questions. this question is about how big the tort should be to go outside with no top? he’s currently about 6inches and weighs 1lb (redfoot) next question is can someone make a list of when i should bring the tort inside? like max/min temps, precipitation stuff like that. also, i dont know if ill be able to afford a RHP for the night box right now. would i really need it for summer? where hes gonna be hes gonna get most of the sun throughout the day and being that im in tennessee and temps are on average 90°-100° daily id think that would heat it up in the mean time. obviously thats a different story for winter. also do you lock the tort in the night box every night?

I'm not a RF keeper, but I can give some general info, and I'll indicate the questions that I don't have an answer too.

• 8x8' is much too small for an outdoor enclosure for a 6" tortoises. I use 30x30 pens for tortoise of that size. 8x8 is not the end of the world, but try to go much bigger.
• In my area, which is on the edge of the National Forrest and filled chock full of all sorts of predators, my babies are fine outside with no top during the day at about 4". At 6" I still bring them in at night, but in your area, locking them in their night box will suffice and accomplish the same thing. We have mountain lions, bears, coyotes, raccoons, hawks, eagles, owls, snakes, bobcats, roadrunners, rats, ground squirrels, stinging ants, etc...
• I don't know about what night temps are suitable for a 6" RF. If the tortoise is locked in its night box though, I'd just set the thermostat to 80. This way, it doesn't really matter how cold it gets outside.
• It doesn't matter if its raining or not. The temperature is what matters. If its a warm summer rain and temps are high 70s to 80s, then they can stay out in the rain. If its a cold rain, I'd bring the tortoise inside or lock it inside the heated night box.
• For a RF the pen should be heavily planted with lots of shade and cover. Really, a heavily planted enclosure is good for all species during hot summer days…
• I lock all of my tortoises of all ages and species in their heated night boxes every night, regardless of temps.

 

[baldegale]

I'm not a RF keeper, but I can give some general info, and I'll indicate the questions that I don't have an answer too.

• 8x8' is much too small for an outdoor enclosure for a 6" tortoises. I use 30x30 pens for tortoise of that size. 8x8 is not the end of the world, but try to go much bigger.
• In my area, which is on the edge of the National Forrest and filled chock full of all sorts of predators, my babies are fine outside with no top during the day at about 4". At 6" I still bring them in at night, but in your area, locking them in their night box will suffice and accomplish the same thing. We have mountain lions, bears, coyotes, raccoons, hawks, eagles, owls, snakes, bobcats, roadrunners, rats, ground squirrels, stinging ants, etc...
• I don't know about what night temps are suitable for a 6" RF. If the tortoise is locked in its night box though, I'd just set the thermostat to 80. This way, it doesn't really matter how cold it gets outside.
• It doesn't matter if its raining or not. The temperature is what matters. If its a warm summer rain and temps are high 70s to 80s, then they can stay out in the rain. If its a cold rain, I'd bring the tortoise inside or lock it inside the heated night box.
• For a RF the pen should be heavily planted with lots of shade and cover. Really, a heavily planted enclosure is good for all species during hot summer days…
• I lock all of my tortoises of all ages and species in their heated night boxes every night, regardless of temps.

8’x8’ is sadly all im allowed to do and even then it was a reach to get my parents to allow it. (we have a small backyard)

ants here are pretty feisty, they bite quite a bit (at least humans) but a top isnt going to stop ants by any means. other than that as i mentioned we only have cats and deer, i have yet to see anything else besides the typical birds and squirrels.

id bring him inside during rain purely because my backyard being that its a new house we havent had any grass grow yet so the yard turns into a stream/pond in most spots.

i wanted to grow strawberries and raspberries anyways, would i be able to put those plants inside his pen? if not what are some other plants you or anyone else would recommend?

i know you do, thats where i got the idea, cause night was always something that concerned me. im probably going to mimic your night box but with different materials and a couple different additions.

 

[baldegale]

ill post a pic of my backyard later today. plus ill be building his pen out of cinder blocks so itll be easily expandable

 

[baldegale]

this is my backyard, i plan on putting the enclosure against the house in the first picture.
@Tom

 

[baldegale]

it’s obviously gonna be bigger but thats the placement

 

[Tom]

What kind of shade/sun does that area get in summer time?

I think you should build it back by the edge of the yard near the brush and encircle those trees so they are in the enclosure.

 

[baldegale]

What kind of shade/sun does that area get in summer time?

I think you should build it back by the edge of the yard near the brush and encircle those trees so they are in the enclosure.

thats what i wanted to do but my dad wont allow me, that area gets sun from noon until sundown pretty much. he wont let me use cinderblocks either cause he says id have to mortar them but im pretty sure for this use i could dry stack them but oh well. so i have to figure out another way.

 

[baldegale]

i might try and give him to someone else near me that can give him proper space because i know for a fact i cant and i feel horrible about it

 

[Tom]

i might try and give him to someone else near me that can give him proper space because i know for a fact i cant and i feel horrible about it

Its not easy being a kid. I used to be one. I remember.

 

[baldegale]

Its not easy being a kid. I used to be one. I remember.

im trying to move out within this year, but itll be an apartment because thats all i can afford. it sucks.

 

[baldegale]

Its not easy being a kid. I used to be one. I remember.

its difficult too because he thinks he knows everything about torts cause when i met him he had a 10” sulcata. he kept the sulcata in a 8x4 table with aspen bedding, no uvb light, no heat bulb besides a typical light bulb and only fed him romaine lettuce

 

[Rusky]

im trying to move out within this year, but itll be an apartment because thats all i can afford. it sucks.

I feel for you man - I'm 15. We already have a tiny backyard (10 x 10 ft or something), and my mum told me that she's going to use all of it for gardening. BTW, your profile seems to say that you're 36??

 

[TechnoCheese]

14 year old here- parents can suck. It’s especially hard to convince them of stuff when they think you’re over reacting. For example, my dad thinking that my sulcata can spend 3 years in a 40 gallon tank. You just have to keep trying to convince them, and maybe show them the forum. This seems like a pretty tough situation.

 

[Rusky]

Lol we should make a thread just for ourselves

 

[baldegale]

I feel for you man - I'm 15. We already have a tiny backyard (10 x 10 ft or something), and my mum told me that she's going to use all of it for gardening. BTW, your profile seems to say that you're 36??

no, im 18 aha, well i will be in 8-9 days. my dad says he needs room for a shed and gardening etc. shed we wont be able to afford for a few years and garden- hell kill everything. its really annoying when weve had this planned for years literally and now hes going back on it like always.

14 year old here- parents can suck. It’s especially hard to convince them of stuff when they think you’re over reacting. For example, my dad thinking that my sulcata can spend 3 years in a 40 gallon tank. You just have to keep trying to convince them, and maybe show them the forum. This seems like a pretty tough situation.

he doesnt think im overreacting he just literally thinks im stupid and dont know what im talking about when ive spent about 2-3 years researching this stuff. its been like this with every animal i own. its really frustrating.